Surfing in Hawaii is legendary, but a clean form of energy is also riding the waves.

Cross: “The potential of wave energy, in general, is exciting. I mean, we have so much population around the world close to coasts, and we have so much wave-energy resource in those same locations.”

That’s Patrick Cross, a researcher and program manager at the University of Hawaii’s Natural Energy Institute. The institute develops renewable-energy solutions that can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.

Using wave energy to make electricity is not a new idea. Cross says there’s enough potential energy in waves to meet a significant portion of U.S. electricity needs.

But there are significant challenges. Any device has to withstand the constant motion of the waves and the corrosion of salt water. And because the system will be underwater, it needs to be easy to maintain.